COURSE INFORMATION AND SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 101:
WINTER 2013
Instructor: Mike Beasley Class
Times: T/R 3-5:10 pm
Phone: 425-564-2341
Email:michael.beasley@bellevuecollege.edu
Office & office hours: R230, by
appt.
TEXTS
The following texts
are required for this course:
1. Clouse: Patterns for a Purpose
(PP)
2. A standard college dictionary
MATERIALS: Pencils/pens,
standard notebook paper, stapler
COURSE OVERVIEW
In this class you
will critically analyze and evaluate what you read, you will be challenged to
express your perspective on a range of given topics, and you will write academic
essays that convincingly develop your perspective. In general, to succeed in this class, you
must:
*Question what you
read; cultivate an inquiring mind; analyze.
*Write articulate essays
that thoroughly and coherently develop a personal yet credible point of view on
an assigned topic.
*Use Standard English
diction, grammar, and mechanics to make your writing forceful and clear.
Specific Objectives—See also “English
101 Outcomes” in the Arts and Humanities/English courses website.
By the end of this
quarter, you should be able to:
*read and appreciate
well-craft prose
*generate and
discover relevant ideas with which to develop a given topic
*use various patterns
of exposition to develop your essays
*formulate a
thoughtful, engaging thesis
*develop a coherent
essay that communicates what your thesis promises to deliver
*write unified and
coherent paragraphs that collectively support a thesis
*exercise good
judgment in diction: word choice, precise language
*write Standard
English sentences, varied in structure and length
*detect and correct
your own grammar, spelling, and usage errors
GRADING—here are the
maximum points for assignments:
Four essays . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 400 points
Homework & class
work. . . . . . . . .approx.100 points
Total points for the course
. . . . . approx.500 points
The grading
calculation is based on a simple percentage of the total points:
90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69 % = D
LATE WORK POLICY
*Except for your
last essay, YOU MAY SUBMIT ONE OF YOUR FIRST THREE ESSAYS ONE CLASS
PERIOD LATE WITH NO PENALTY. All others must be submitted on time and cannot be
submitted late for any reason, no exceptions.
*YOUR FINAL ESSAY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE, NO
EXCEPTIONS.
*HOMEWORK AND CLASSWORK CANNOT BE MADE UP, NO EXCEPTIONS.
*EMAIL is for correspondence only; it is not for
submitting coursework. Therefore, emailed course work will not be accepted. This institution does offer on-line college courses
if you are interested. See the course
catalog.
SPECIAL CRITERIA FOR ESSAY #1:
Good writing is the
result of a process. Consequently, your first
essay must be submitted in stages. NOTE: For essay #1, you
must submit a preliminary outline (See PP 47-51) and a typed, double-spaced
first draft in MLA page format (See PP 712-16). If you fail to meet any of these
requirements, you will lose
homework credit. After you
have submitted all the required stages of your writing, I will assign a grade
to your final submission.
Other essays: I will
specify what to submit when the assignment is given.
FORMAT FOR ESSAYS--MLA: typed, double-spaced, 12 point
font, one inch margins all around, indented paragraphs, centered title, name
and heading information in the left corner.
Do not include a cover page.
Staple your pages to avoid separation.
Again, See PP 712-16 for a visible model of correctly formatted
pages. IMPROPERLY FORMATTED PAPERS MAY
BE RETURNED OR RECEIVE A GRADE DEDUCTION. THE LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY APPLIES.
SAR—throughout the quarter, your essays will be increasingly
evaluated on how skillfully and perceptively you SAR. SAR stands for Summarize/Analyze/Respond.
Thus, In addition to being properly formatted, your writing will be evaluated
on how well you meet the following criteria:
1. ACCURACY (AC)--Does your writing reflect
an accurate comprehension and a close reading of assigned materials? In other words, do you effectively comment on
and summarize what you’ve read?
2. RELEVANCE (REL)--Does your writing articulately
and directly address all the criteria of the writing assignment?
3. EDITING (ED)—did you edit your writing
before submitting it?
Fundamental spelling
and grammar competency, the use of a variety of sentence patterns, diction
crispness and precision—these writing virtues are always required.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
1. Be prepared for unannounced quizzes on
assigned readings.
2. Attend class: I will take roll
promptly at the beginning of class. If
you do not answer when I call your name, I will mark you absent. If you do not remind me immediately after
class that you arrived late, your tardy will remain an absence. If you
acquire more than ten class periods of absence during the quarter, you
cannot pass this class. For a class that meets twice a week, that means
five classes, since each class is two hours long.
3. Participate
actively in class discussions and activities.
4. Please follow
classroom etiquette. The college
classroom is a public space, a group learning environment. Thus, whatever impedes your and your fellow
students' learning cannot be tolerated.
The following behaviors are not permitted in this class
by anyone, no exceptions:
*Sudden departures during class; disruptive. Please
do not return to class until the next period.
*Frequent
tardiness—very inconsiderate; arrive promptly for each class session. If you are frequently tardy, I will start a
log and discreetly refer you to relevant campus counselors to discuss resolving
whatever issues impede you from arriving on time.
*Cell phone use:
sending or receiving calls or texts. If
you decide that you must leave the room to answer a call for any reason,
please do not return until the next class session or after the break, whatever
the case may be. It’s disruptive. You
may later contact me through email or make and appointment with me.
CLASS PARTICIPATION, behaviors not permitted, cont.
*Talking out of turn:
one person talks at a time; the class listens; then it is someone else’s
turn. That’s the convention.
*The upshot? Respect others, as you want others to respect
you.
If you cannot curtail
these behaviors after being confronted, perhaps this is not the class for you.
Consult your student
manual for clarifications on student responsibilities if you must.
NOTE: Avoid Plagiarism:
copying or otherwise falsely representing another writer’s words or ideas as
your own, accidentally or deliberately, without referring to the
author. It is strictly forbidden,
subject to penalty. Any questions?
DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability which affects your academic
performance, contact Disability Services on campus. They are equipped and willing to service your
needs.
WEEKLY AGENDA AND
ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
*The following
schedule is subject to change. Please keep apprised of any
schedule changes by attending class regularly.
*Homework and class work
assignments are not listed below. I will assign these as the course proceeds.
*All readings must be
completed by the dates I announce. Furthermore,
other readings not appearing below will be distributed and/or assigned
throughout the course. Again, attendance
is crucial for you to get necessary materials.
WEEK 1—Jan. 3: INTRO.
TO COURSE
Discuss the syllabus;
writing diagnostic.
Read “Writing a
Summary” PP 95-97
WEEK 2—Jan. 8, 10: NARRATION,
DESCRIPTION, PROCESS,
Read PP 3-54
Read “Narration” PP
181-97 and “Description” PP 119-37
Read “Process
Analysis,” PP 291-305
Read "A
Hanging," PP 665-69
Read “The Homestead
on Rainy Mountain Creek” PP 140-42
Read “The Deer of Providencia” PP 150-53
WEEK 3—Jan. 15, 17: Week
2 topics continued
EXEMPLIFICATION PP
233-48
OUTLINE AND FULL DRAFT OF ESSAY 1 DUE TUESDAY: 20 POINTS
THURSDAY: INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES: 10 POINTS
Writing and Revising Read
Chapter 3, PP 59-86
WEEK 4—Jan. 22, 24: COMPARISON/CONTRAST
PP 349-65
Read “Grant and Lee.
. .” PP 367-70
Read “Once More to
the Lake” PP 691-96
TUESDAY: ESSAY 1 DUE
WEEK 5—Jan. 29, 31: COMPARISON/CONTRAST
CONT.
Read “Untouchables”
PP 275-81 and accompanying handout
WEEK 6—Feb. 5, 7
22-26: CAUSE/EFFECT, DEFINITION
Read PP 413-25: Cause
and Effect
Read PP 523-34:
Definition
WEEK 7—Feb. 12, 14: Cause/effect
and definition, cont.
TUESDAY—ESSAY 3 ACTIVITY: PEER FEEDBACK. BRING A FULL, CORRECTLY FORMATTED DRAFT OF
ESSAY 3.
Read “Conspiracy
Theories 101” PP 536-39
WEEK 8-Feb. 19, 21:
Week 7 cont.
TUESDAY: ESSAY 3 DUE
Read “Just Walk on
By. . .” PP 448-51
WEEK 9—Feb. 26, 28: BEGIN
FILM ANALYSIS UNIT.
ARGUMENTATION AND
PERSUASION: PP 571-91
Effective
argumentation: raising and countering objections
Read/review
“Detecting Errors” PP 7-9
WEEK 10--March 5, 7: FILM
ANALYSIS CONT.
WEEK 11—March 12, 14:
FILM ANALYSIS CONT.
WEEK 12—March 18-20:
FINALS
YOUR FINAL ESSAY FOR THIS CLASS IS DUE BY________________________
NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED, NO EXCEPTIONS.